Fans of Sadler’s Zenon Kar, Girl of the 21st Century (2001), take note: here’s another futuristic adventure featuring a plucky but vulnerable preteen saving the day while fussing over personal issues. A frantic phone call from her archaeologist mother heralds a string of challenging situations for Tria. First, she’s hustled out of her familiar pod on planet Chiron to a luddite “Back To Basics” school where she’s forbidden even the comfort of her hologram companion Star; then she’s menaced by mad scientist Dr. Roparian and other nogoodniks seeking a mysterious artifact her mother brought home that (it turns out) can make holograms solid, and vice versa. With the help of two new schoolmates—meek-but-competent Brash and bully-turned-buddy Dayla—plus a wise electronic tutor she accidentally installs in the body of a robo horse, Tria rescues her mother, foils Roparian and cohorts, and even manages by the end to become a little less dependent on Star’s company. It’s an awkward debut, hung about with massive coincidences and typecast supporting characters, but Rector writes easy, engaging prose, and never lets the pace lag for longwinded explanations. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-72941-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This delightful series opener is an exciting blend of Russian and Jewish traditions
A Jewish girl meets dragons in a fantastical version of Kievan Rus’, where magic has been illegal for 10 years.
Anya’s the only Jewish child in Zmeyreka. In the mostly Christian 10th-century village, Anya’s family stands out: Her father’s father remains pagan, while her mother’s people are refugee Khazars and Mountain Jews. But unbeknownst to Anya, her village is not like the rest of Kievan Rus’. Magical creatures are nearly extinct everywhere else but common in Zmeyreka. The tsar’s sent a “fool family”—users of fool magic, authorized to use magic despite the ban—to capture the last dragon in the land. The youngest fool is Anya’s age (he’s named Ivan, just like his seven older brothers), and the two become fast friends. But can Anya really bring herself to help Ivan kill a dragon that hasn’t harmed anyone? Zmeyreka’s magical creatures are both helpful and frightening; there are dragons, leshiye, vodyaniye, and even a Jewish domovoi with a little kippah. Ivan, unlike his pale father and brothers, is dark-skinned like his mother, a princess from “far to the east.” Though historical accuracy isn’t perfect (Anya anticipates her bat mitzvah, for instance, and reads Hebrew), it is a fantasy, and anachronisms don’t detract from the adventures of truly likable characters in this original setting.
This delightful series opener is an exciting blend of Russian and Jewish traditions . (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-358-00607-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative,...
Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness.
These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46083-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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